NYC Marathon: Petition: 'It is not the right time' to run race

Storm damage causes split among runners

Nov. 1, 2012

Written by

Malia Rulon Herman

Gannett Washington Bureau

The New York City Marathon is a go for this Sunday, less than a week after the city was pummeled by the super storm that cut power to thousands of residents and crippled the city’s subway system.

Too soon?

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says no. He gave the popular race a green light at a news conference Wednesday, saying the storm-battered city could use the money, which organizers expect could be around $340 million.

“There’s an awful lot of small businesses that depend on these people,” Bloomberg said. “We have to have an economy. It’s a great event for New York.”

Mary Wittenberg, president of New York Road Runners, issued a statement saying the marathon “really epitomizes the spirit of New York City, the vitality, the tenacity, the determination of New Yorkers.”

The 2001 marathon was held seven weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Others said the race would be a distraction and divert needed resources at a critical time. An online petition circulating via Twitter has collected more than 750 signatures from runners and others who want to see the race postponed.

“It is not the right time,” Danielle Visvader-Pradas of New York, wrote in signing the online petition. “People lost their homes. People are still without electricity and heat. This city should not have the streets filled with cheering when so many have lost so much.”

Steven Gold, who lives in lower Manhattan with his wife, Connie, and their newborn son, urged friends via Facebook to boycott the race. The family has been without electricity since Monday.

“How can a runner, in good conscience, run down the street throwing water all over the street at each hydration spot along the route when people in Manhattan or other boroughs are struggling,” he wrote. “I’m not saying to cancel, just postpone.”

The marathon, whose participants include thousands of people running for charity, had expected nearly 50,000 runners before the storm hit. Organizers are letting people defer their entry until 2013.

Anne-Marie Auwinger, who lives in lower Manhattan and has been without power since Monday, said it’s important to hold the race.

“Everything can’t just stop because this happened,” she said. “We have to try to make things as normal as we can.”